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Hi Peter,
I am glad this article brought back these memories for you, this is of course the reason for writing and reading them. Kiwis have always been my favourite people; their humour, outlook and irreverence.
Your comment has prompted me to address my lack of contribution to this site of late; life has got in the way. I shall post another article today or tomorrow.
Cheers, Paul.
P.S. Happy New Year.
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Hello Paul,
What a fantastic read and many thanks for bringing back happy memories. I joined SS&A as an Eng/Cdt in 1971 and spent several years in differing ranks on the SS&A ships running to NZ & Aus. What a time we had - I think the last port I did in NZ was "The Mount" (Tauranga) as 3/E on the Dunelmia in 1980.
We always had brilliant parties in every port and I seem to remember a "shoreside bosun" in Auckland called Jampot Jenny. She was a big 'brunhilde' and had a stable of delightful young maidens who obviously enjoyed the company of British sailors. The first thing up the gangway was always a shoreside phone and you could gaurantee that it would ring within a few minutes of being connected. It was always a young female asking "Are you having a party tonight?". Oh happy days.
We always had at least one or two girls ring-bolting around the coast and on one occasion on the Illyric an AB managed to get his girl all the way from NZ to Avonmouth. He was hiding her in the Lazarette down aft and I actually saw her on deck at around 02:00 hrs when I was on the way back to the engine room after checking the shaft bearings and the steering gear. I never realised who I was seeing in the dark on deck until we docked in the UK when I saw her again and the penny dropped.
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Saw John Grey a few times on ships down here in Wellington.then while visiting an old shipmate Brian Smith in Shetland hetook me to see john who was retired and in bad health,that would have been been 2008 i think,he told me he had finished his sea going career on Scandinavian ships,sadly he passed away not too long after that i was told.
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I think that was a girl called Misty.
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Most kiwi ports had watermen on the payroll, their job was primar8ly to put water on ships when required and wash thenwharfs by hosing when there was no ships on the berth, it was usually an older mans job.
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Times have changed.
Fresh water is added no with a very simple tool known as a hose pipe.
As for washing down, think some one forgot to tell them about that.
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Hi Michael,
Sorry to hear about Shelty; I'm glad he went on Scandinavian ships, they must have thought they had a 10 cent. Viking sailing with them. I will always think of him as a very good seaman and friend.
Cheers, Paul.
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Hi Adrian,
Thanks for that, I feel it is beholden of all of us to put these stories down, they are our history.
For one reason or another I have not posted anything for a while; but I do have a further couple of stories they may interest people.
Cheers, Paul.
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You are dead right Paul and thank you for starting the ball rolling. What is surprising to me is that while there is repeated reference to Nurses bringing pleasure and company to visiting seamen there is no mention, so far as I can recall having read all 8 pages, of the many girls from NZ Telephone Exchanges. Probably as many such party-goers as there were Nurses. Think back to the 40's and 50's and Telephone Exchange Operators many of whom, like Nurses, lived in dorm-type accommodations in NZ and worked shifts at a local switchboard. "Hold the line caller while I put you through" - Remember it?
Ken T
R412277
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Apart from Australia and NZ being well known for Ringbolting another area well known for such but rarely mentioned was the Great Lakes of North America , or were others not so fortunate . JS
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Hi John.
Always regretted not joining a ship in Swansea that was going to the Lakes, by then I had enough of the North Atlantic and wanted some sunshine to bronzy in, mind you tankers were not he best way to see the world, though I went to many ports that I prbably wouldn't have got to on a cargo boat.
Des
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Ken.
Best place I ever was in in NZ was Dunedin, from the nurses home there, there was always someone up for a dance.
Des